16 members of the Beyoğlu Troupe art society stand accused of "insult" upon a complaint of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The second hearing of the case was held on Friday (25 March) before the Magistrate Criminal Court of Çatalca (Istanbul).
The lawyer of PM Erdoğan, Abdullah Güler, was excused and did not attend the hearing. The Court President announced that he had reviewed the CD requested at the first hearing in January with footage of the troupe's performance. However, the judge declared that the records did not include any reason for an offence.
The legal procedures started upon the performance of the Beyoğlu Troupe at the "Judas Tree Festival" organized by the Municipality of Çatalca in July 2010. One of the characters in the play "From our country" performed a song entitled "The Tayyip Blues". The lyrics of the song were taken as a reason for the criminal complaint.
The court board decided that there was no need to view the records at court because Emre Yalçın who performed the song on subject was not shown on the CD.
Gökmen: Erdoğan was booed "like in a stadium"
Erdoğan's lawyer Güler referred to the statement of witness Nazım Gökmen who had said that he did not fully remember the lyrics of the song. He claimed to have heard the expression "You are a street vendor, Tayyip". He also recalled that the audience booed the Prime Minister "like supporters in a stadium".
The defendants rejected the charges. Moreover, lawyer Güler's request to hear two witnesses was dismissed by putting forward that "the names of the witnesses were not included in the investigation process. The names came up only a long time after the incident".
The trial was postponed to 18 May when a final decision could be given, the court announced.
Legal procedures started upon complaint of AKP member Güçbilmez
The legal procedures were initiated by Selim Güçbilmez, District Chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the course of the festival last summer. After the performance, Güçbilmez went backstage to express his discontent to the actors.
Güçbilmez's complaint was the reason for taking group members and supporters into custody without a legal basis. 25 people gave their statement to the Çatalca Prosecution upon the complaint. A trial was launched against 16 members of the troupe.
Reason for the complaint was the term "You are a street vendor, Tayyip" taken from the song "The Tayyip Blues" as part of the play entitled "Our Country".
The 16 defendants are facing prison terms of up to two years each on charges of "insult of a public official" on the grounds of the lyrics. (EÇ/EÖ)
